It began in 2002, back when the Rams were in St. Louis and the Patriots were a plucky underdog standing in the way of a potential dynasty.

So much has changed.

This hasn't: Bill Belichick and Tom Brady.

The duo, every bit as formidable now as when they won that first title, face the Rams, now back in Los Angeles, in a Super Bowl rematch of sorts that pits the NFL's past against its future.

At 32, Sean McVay is the youngest Super Bowl coach. At 66, Bill Belichick has an NFL-record 30 playoff wins.

At 24, Jared Goff is the youngest quarterback to win the NFC championship. At 41, Brady will be the oldest quarterback to start a Super Bowl.

The Rams (15-3) are back in the Super Bowl for the first time since that meeting against the Patriots — and for the first time as the "Los Angeles Rams" since 1980, when they fell to the Steelers. The Patriots (13-5) are back for the third straight time — they lost to Philly last year — the fourth in five seasons and the ninth since Belichick got the New England dynasty on track in the 2002 win over St. Louis.

The Rams duo of McVay and Goff has spent the past two seasons heralding the coming of a new age of football — one in which McVay's reimagined offense has dealt a blow to the old, increasingly dated adage that teams ultimately must win championships with defense. The Rams have cracked 30 points in 13 of their 18 games this season. A generation ago, that would've been novel; now, it's normal.

But to officially usher the NFL into a new era, the Rams will have to get past New England, which is a 1-point favorite for the game in Atlanta, set for Feb. 3 — exactly 17 years to the date of the last Super Bowl showdown, and a bit more than three months since the Boston Red Sox topped the LA Dodgers for the World Series. (Who will Magic and Bird cheer for? Stay tuned.)

Is Brady up to it?

Well, on Sunday, he drove the Patriots down the field for three straight touchdowns — two in the fourth quarter and once in overtime — for a 37-31 victory over the Chiefs , the only team that gained more yards than Los Angeles this season.

It put an end to the dream of a rematch between two teams of the future — Rams vs. Chiefs — who delivered a wildly entertaining, defense-optional touchdown-fest in a 54-51 Rams victory in November.

Instead, we get a "rematch" of that 2002 Super Bowl, won by the Patriots 20-17.

The Rams came into that game as a franchise on the edge of a dynasty.

They were one season removed from their first Super Bowl win, led by quarterback Kurt Warner and known as "The Greatest Show on Turf" for the fake grass they burned up at their seven-year-old home in St. Louis. They had amassed what was then unheard of — 500-plus points in three straight seasons — and were a two-touchdown favorite against Belichick and Brady, who was in his second year and best known as the sixth-round draft pick Belichick stuck with after Drew Bledsoe got injured.

New England used ball control, defense and a last-second field goal to topple Warner and the Rams. On the surface, the task figures to not be all that different this time around, though Brady is showing he's perfectly capable of matching opponents touchdown-for-touchdown. Sunday's win adds to a Week 6 victory over Kansas City by the score of 43-40. The Patriots ranked fifth in overall offense this season, only 28 yards a game behind LA.

Theirs is an offense built around Brady, his mastery of diagnosing defenses at the line of scrimmage and his ability to use interchangeable parts on his offense over the years. (Receiver Julian Edelman and tight end Rob Gronkowski have stood out most recently.)

And stability.

Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels has interviewed for jobs virtually every year since returning to Foxborough after short stints in Denver and St. Louis. He was out the door for Indy last year, but changed his mind and returned once again to call plays for Belichick.

As for the Rams, they improved from 10th last year in offense to second this season, as McVay and Goff found their footing. But maybe the most telling sign of their success is that McVay's offensive assistants are, as a group, the most sought-after sideline talent in the league. Two left after last season. Two more, quarterbacks coach Zac Taylor and tight ends coach Shane Waldron, are drawing attention this season.

Now, the ultimate question: If they leave, will they do so with a Super Bowl ring?

]]>http://hosted.ap.org/kernradio/article/ddfe599a71fc4c758d096eb63fef46fa/super-bowl-pats-vs-rams-meeting-past-vs-future
ddfe599a71fc4c758d096eb63fef46faMon, 21 Jan 2019 12:25:31 GMTKABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A Taliban assault on a military base and police training center in a province just outside the Afghan capital on Monday killed at least 12 people and wounded more than 30, officials said.

Salem Asgherkhail, head of the area's public health department, said most of those killed in the attack in Maidan Wardak province were military personnel. Some of the wounded were taken to local hospitals for treatment while the more serious cases were sent to the capital, Kabul.

Nasrat Rahimi, deputy spokesman for the interior minister, said a suicide car bomber struck the base before insurgents opened fire. Sharifullah Hotak, a provincial council member, said four attackers took part in the assault after the bombing, all of whom were killed in the ensuing gunbattle. Hotak said it was a training base for new recruits from the area.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement to the media.

The Taliban, who now hold sway in almost half of Afghanistan, carry out attacks on a daily basis, mainly targeting the beleaguered security forces. The violence comes amid stepped-up efforts by the United States to find a negotiated end to the 17-year war.

In a separate statement, the insurgents said they met again with U.S. representatives to discuss "ending the invasion of Afghanistan" in talks that would continue on Tuesday. They are meeting in Qatar, where the Taliban have a political office.

The Taliban threatened to walk away from the talks last week, accusing Washington of seeking to expand the agenda, presumably a reference to American demands that the insurgents hold direct talks with the Kabul government. The Taliban view the Afghan government as a U.S. puppet and have long insisted they will only negotiate directly with Washington.

Bitter cold and gusty winds swept across the eastern U.S. Monday with falling temperatures replacing the weekend's falling snow.

The National Weather Service had forecast that temperatures would be more than 20 degrees below normal across the Northeast, with wind gusts up to 30 mph and wind chills approaching minus 40 degrees (-4 degrees Celsius) in northern New York and Vermont.

Atop the Northeast's highest mountain, the temperature fell to minus 23 degrees Monday morning and was expected to drop even more later in the day, said Adam Gill, a meteorologist with the Mount Washington Observatory in New Hampshire. Though wind gusts of 30 to 40 mph were not particularly high for a location that once held the record for the strongest wind speed ever recorded, it was enough to produce wind chill values of minus 50 to 55 degrees (-10 to -13 degrees Celsius), Gill said.

"The big thing is to be prepared: Make sure you have no exposed skin," he said. "Even being covered up, especially with gloves, your fingers get cold fast."

The weather contributed to multiple deaths over the long Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend.

In suburban Chicago, the temperature was about 14 degrees (minus-10 Celsius) Sunday when a 12-year-old girl died after a snow fort collapsed on her. Police in Arlington Heights, Illinois, said Esther Jung had been playing with another girl outside Rothem Church. Their families began looking for them about an hour later and found them under the snow. The younger girl survived.

In Connecticut, a utility company subcontractor died Sunday after being struck by a falling tree while working on a power line in Middleton. More than 12,000 homes and businesses in Connecticut remained without power late Monday morning, down from a high of more than 25,000 outages Sunday, as temperatures dropped below zero in some locations.

"This is a reminder of the danger these men and women face on our behalf," Gov. Ned Lamont said in a tweet. "While many are still out there working today, please join me in acknowledging them and sending our thoughts to this person's family."

In Kansas, a snowplow driver was killed when the plow drove onto the shoulder of a road and rolled over, throwing him under the vehicle. It wasn't clear why the driver had moved to the shoulder from the roadway. And in Wisconsin, the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office said a 59-year-old man and a 91-year-old man collapsed and died Sunday in separate incidents after removing snow.

While FlightAware reported nearly 350 cancelled flights Monday, that was a fraction of the more than 1,600 that were cancelled the previous day. And after a few weather-related delays Sunday, Amtrak restored all scheduled service on Monday.

Another storm system is already developing over the Rockies that could blanket the same region with more snow by the end of the week.

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Theresa May unveiled her Brexit Plan B on Monday — and it looks a lot like Plan A.

May launched a mission to resuscitate her rejected European Union divorce deal, setting out plans to get it approved by Parliament after securing changes from the EU to a contentious Irish border measure.

Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn of the Labour Party accused May of being in "deep denial" about her doomed deal.

"This really does feel a bit like 'Groundhog Day,'" he said, referring to the 1993 film starring Bill Murray, in which a weatherman is fated to live out the same day over and over again.

Outlining what she plans to do after her EU divorce deal was rejected by Parliament last week, May said that she had heeded lawmakers' concerns over an insurance policy known as the "backstop" that is intended to guarantee there are no customs checks along the border between EU member Ireland and the U.K.'s Northern Ireland after Brexit.

May told the House of Commons that she would be "talking further this week to colleagues ... to consider how we might meet our obligations to the people of Northern Ireland and Ireland in a way that can command the greatest possible support in the House.

"And I will then take the conclusions of those discussions back to the EU."

The bloc insists that it won't renegotiate the withdrawal agreement.

"She is wasting time calling for a revision or clarification over the backstop," said German politician Udo Bullmann, head of the socialist group in the European Parliament.

While May stuck doggedly to her deal, she also acknowledged that control over Brexit wasn't entirely in her hands. She noted that lawmakers will be able to amend her plan when it comes to a vote in the House of Commons on Jan. 29, exactly two months before Britain is due to leave the EU.

Groups of "soft Brexit"-backing lawmakers — who want to keep close economic ties to the bloc — are planning to use amendments to try to rule out a "no-deal" Brexit and make May ease her insistence that leaving the EU means quitting its single market and customs union.

Britain and the EU sealed a divorce deal in November after months of tense negotiations. But the agreement has been rejected by both sides of Britain's divide over Europe. Brexit-backing lawmakers say it will leave the U.K. tethered to the bloc's rules and unable to forge an independent trade policy. Pro-Europeans argue it is inferior to the frictionless economic relationship Britain currently enjoys as an EU member.

After her deal was thrown out last week by a crushing 432-202 vote in Parliament, May said she would consult with lawmakers from all parties to find a new way forward.

But Corbyn called the cross-party meetings a "stunt," and other opposition leaders said the prime minister didn't seem to be listening.

On Monday, May rejected calls from pro-EU lawmakers to delay Britain's departure from the bloc or to hold a second referendum on whether to leave.

In a nod to opposition parties' concerns, she promised to consult lawmakers, trade unionists, business groups and civil society organizations "to try to find the broadest possible consensus" on future ties between Britain and the EU, and said the government wouldn't water down protections for the environment and workers' rights after Brexit.

May also said the government had decided to waive a 65 pound ($84) fee for EU citizens in Britain who want to stay permanently after Brexit.

Guy Verhofstadt, the head of the EU Parliament Brexit steering group, welcomed news that the fee was being dropped for 3 million EU nationals, saying it had been a "key demand" for the EU legislature.

May's immediate goal is to win over pro-Brexit Conservatives and her party's Northern Irish ally, the Democratic Unionist Party. Both groups say they won't back the deal unless the border backstop is removed.

The backstop proposes to keep the U.K. in a customs union with the EU in order to avoid checks on the Irish border. It is meant as a temporary measure that would last until a permanent solution is found. But pro-Brexit U.K. lawmakers fear Britain could become trapped in it, indefinitely bound by EU trade rules.

Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz broke ranks with EU colleagues Monday by suggesting the problem could be solved by setting a five-year time limit on the backstop.

The idea got a cool reception. Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said that "putting a time-limit on an insurance mechanism, which is what the backstop is, effectively means that it's not a backstop at all."

Britain's political impasse over Brexit is fueling concerns that the country may crash out of the EU on March 29 with no agreement in place to cushion the shock. That could see tariffs imposed on goods moving between Britain and the EU, sparking logjams at ports and shortages of essential supplies.

Carolyn Fairbairn, director-general of the Confederation of British Industry, said Monday was "another bleak day for business."

"Parliament remains in deadlock while the slope to a cliff edge steepens," she said.

Several groups of lawmakers are trying to use parliamentary rules and amendments to May's plan to block the possibility of Britain leaving the EU without a deal.

One of those legislators, Labour's Yvette Cooper, said May was shirking her responsibility to the country by refusing to take "no deal" off the table.

"I think she knows that she should rule out 'no deal' in the national interest because it would be so damaging," Cooper told the BBC. "She's refusing to do so, and I think she's hoping that Parliament will do this for her. That is not leadership."

___

Raf Casert reported from Brussels. Lorne Cook in Brussels and Monika Scislowska in Warsaw, Poland, contributed to this story.

BEIRUT (AP) — An Islamic State suicide bomber targeted a joint convoy of U.S. and allied Kurdish forces in northern Syria on Monday, marking the second attack against U.S. troops in less than a week and further highlighting the dangers surrounding U.S. plans to withdraw forces after a declaration that the extremist group had been defeated.

The attack happened on a checkpoint on the edge of the town of Shaddadeh in the Hassakeh province, on a road used by local Kurdish fighters and the U.S.-led coalition fighting IS militants near the Iraqi border.

U.S. military Col. Sean Ryan said there were no casualties among the U.S.-led coalition members. "We can confirm a combined U.S. and Syrian partner force convoy was involved" in the suicide bomb attack, he said.

"We will continue to review the situation and provide updates as appropriate," he added.

Monday's bombing came days after a suicide attack killed 19 people, including two U.S. service members and two American civilians, in the northern Syrian town of Manbij. That bombing, outside a popular restaurant frequented by American troops, was the deadliest assault on U.S. troops in Syria since American forces moved into the country in 2015.

The extremist group claimed both attacks in statements carried by its Aamaq news agency. IS has been driven from virtually all the territory it once held in Syria and Iraq but continues to carry out attacks in both countries.

The Kurdish Hawar news agency, based in northern Syria, said Monday's blast targeted a Syrian Kurdish checkpoint as a coalition convoy was passing near Shaddadeh. It said two Kurdish fighters were lightly wounded in the blast.

A video it posted showed smoke rising from a vehicle on a desert road. Another video released by the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights showed smoke rising from what appeared to be an armored vehicle belonging to the Syrian Kurdish militia in flames. Coalition armored vehicles and ambulances could be seen on the road.

The Observatory said the blast killed five people and wounded others.

In a Dec. 19 tweet announcing the withdrawal from Syria, President Donald Trump declared, "We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency." He said the troops would begin coming home "now." That plan triggered immediate pushback from military leaders and led to the resignation of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.

Over the past month, Trump and others have appeared to adjust the timeline, and U.S. officials have suggested it will likely take several months to safely withdraw the approximately 2,000 U.S. troops from Syria.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, a leading voice on foreign policy and close ally of the president, said during a visit Saturday to Turkey that an American withdrawal from Syria that had not been thought through would lead to "chaos" and "an Iraq on steroids." Graham urged Trump not to get out without a plan and said IS has not yet been destroyed in Syria.

The office of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he and Trump spoke by phone early Monday about Manbij, and that Erdogan told Trump that Turkey is "ready to take over the security" of the town "without losing time."

The fate of the Syrian town, controlled by U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish fighters whom Turkey considers terrorists, has been a source of tension between Ankara and Washington. Turkey insists on the withdrawal of the Syrian Kurdish militia, which drove IS from Manbij in 2016.

Erdogan called last week's suicide attack in Manbij a "provocation meant to affect the U.S. decision to withdraw from Syria," and said the two leaders agreed their military chiefs would "speed up" consultations about a safe zone in northeastern Syria.

In a separate development on Monday, the European Union added 11 businessmen and five companies to its list of Syrians under sanctions for backing President Bashar Assad's government.

EU foreign ministers imposed travel bans and asset freezes on them, saying they "are involved in luxury estate development and other regime-backed projects, and as such support and/or benefit from the Syrian regime."

The EU sanctions list now includes 270 people and 72 "entities," which are usually companies, organizations or agencies.

The EU began imposing sanctions on Assad and his supporters in 2011, after peaceful protests erupted against his family's decades-long rule and the government launched a violent crackdown. The sanctions are reviewed every year.

The measures include an oil embargo, investment restrictions, a freeze on Syrian central bank assets held in the EU, and export bans on equipment that could be used to crack down on civilians.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel on Monday claimed responsibility for a series of airstrikes on Iranian military targets in Syria, drifting further away from its longstanding policy of playing down or covering up its military activities in the war-torn country.

For years, Israel has remained largely silent about its attacks against Iran and its Shiite proxies operating in neighboring Syria. But in recent weeks, military and political leaders have become increasingly outspoken about these activities.

This policy appears to be aimed at sending a message to key players in Syria, including President Bashar Assad and Russia, that Iran's continued presence there risks triggering even tougher and potentially destabilizing Israeli action.

"Whoever tries to harm us, we will harm them. Whoever threatens to destroy us will bear the full responsibility," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday.

But it also risks heating up the atmosphere between the bitter enemies. Iran's air force chief, for instance, said his forces are "ready for a fight."

Israel considers Iran to be its greatest enemy, and as Syria's civil war winds down, it has repeatedly warned that it will not allow Iranian troops — who have been fighting alongside Assad's forces — to maintain a permanent presence in postwar Syria.

While Israel has largely stayed out of the fighting in Syria, it has carried out scores of airstrikes on suspected Iranian arms shipments to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which is also fighting alongside Assad's troops. With few exceptions, Israel has maintained a policy of ambiguity, neither confirming nor denying the airstrikes.

That changed earlier this month when Israel's outgoing military chief, Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot, told the New York Times that Israel had struck "thousands of targets without claiming responsibility or asking for credit" as part of his showdown with Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the commander of Iran's elite Quds Force. Days later, Netanyahu acknowledged striking "hundreds" of Iranian and Hezbollah targets.

In the latest violence, the Israeli military announced Monday that it had struck a series of Iranian targets, including munition storage facilities, an intelligence site and a military training camp, in response to an Iranian missile attack a day earlier.

Israel said the missile, fired by Iranian forces in Syria, was intercepted over a ski resort on the Golan Heights and that there were no injuries. The Iranian launch followed a rare Israeli daylight air raid near the Damascus International Airport.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Monday's pre-dawn strikes lasted for nearly an hour and were the most intense Israeli attacks since May. It said 11 were killed. The Russian military said four Syrian troops were among those killed. There were no further details on the casualties or their nationalities.

Speaking to reporters, Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, an Israeli military spokesman, said the Israeli use of ambiguity hadn't changed. He said that the Iranian missile strike, aimed at Israeli civilian areas, was a special case that required a public and powerful response, and that Israel had reacted similarly to previous Iranian provocations in February and May.

He also said that Israel had sent warnings to Syria ahead of the attack to refrain from attacking Israeli warplanes, but that Syria ignored those warnings and fired anti-aircraft missiles. He said Israel responded by destroying Syrian anti-aircraft batteries.

Others, however, said the shift in Israeli policy is clear.

Moshe Yaalon, a former military chief and defense minister, said the military had no choice but to comment after Netanyahu took credit publicly for the strikes. He accused Netanyahu, who is running for re-election while facing the threat of indictment in a series of corruption scandals, of playing politics with the country's security.

"Unfortunately ... everything is connected to his political survival," Yaalon told Israel's Army Radio. "What does the publication give us? Can someone tell me what the benefit is, besides politics?"

But military analyst Yoel Guzansky said Israel has bigger concerns.

He said Israel hopes to "stir a debate" in Iran and perhaps turn public opinion against the leadership's "adventures" in Syria at a time of economic hardship. He said Israel also wants its foes to know that the promised withdrawal from Syria by American forces will have no effect on its policies.

"The Iranians are persistent. We have to be persistent too," said Guzansky, a senior fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies, a Tel Aviv think tank.

Israel also may be sending a message to Russia, which has supported Assad and is poised to take a prominent role in postwar Syria, that its tolerance of Iran could threaten those interests. Israel's relations with Russia have been tense since Syrian anti-aircraft fire aimed at Israeli warplanes accidentally shot down a Russian plane in September.

Israeli Cabinet Minister Yuval Steinitz, a close ally of Netanyahu, warned that Assad himself could be at risk if he continues to allow the Iranians to attack.

"Sir, if you allow the Iranians to attack Israel from Syria, if there is a war or the outbreak of conflict one way or the other on the border with Israel, you, too, will be targeted," he told Israel Radio.

In New York, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the head of the U.N. peacekeeping mission on the Golan Heights spoke to the Israeli military and Syrian authorities "to de-escalate the situation."

But the Israeli threats and attacks drew angry responses from Iran and its allies.

The chief of Iran's air force, Gen. Aziz Nassirzadeh, said his forces are "impatient and ready for a fight against the Zionist regime to wipe it off the Earth," according to a news website affiliated with Iran's state television.

"The conditions are getting closer to war every day and a war might break out on several fronts," added an official from the Iranian-led "Axis of Resistance" — made up of Syria, Lebanon's Hezbollah and other armed groups in the region. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

In Syria, lawmaker Najdat Anzour said the Israeli airstrikes were meant to keep up the pressure on Syria and to save the Israeli leader from his domestic troubles.

"Netanyahu is under pressure at home and trying to find himself an outlet," he said.

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela plunged deeper into turmoil on Monday as security forces put down a pre-dawn uprising by national guardsmen that triggered violent street protests and the Supreme Court outlawed the opposition-controlled congress' defiant new leadership.

The mutiny triggered protests in a poor neighborhood just a few miles (kilometers) from Venezuela's presidential palace. It was dispersed with tear gas as residents set fire to a barricade of trash and chanted demands that President Nicolas Maduro leave power.

The military said in a statement said that it had recovered all the weapons and captured those involved in what it described as "treasonous" acts motivated by "obscure interests tied to the far right."

It said at around 2:50 a.m. (06:50 GMT), a small group of guardsmen took captive a captain in charge of a police station in western Caracas and then moved across the capital in two military trucks to the poor neighborhood of Petare, where they stole a cache of weapons from another outpost.

They were caught a few hours later at a national guard outpost 3 kilometers (2 miles) from the Miraflores presidential palace.

A few hours earlier, a group of heavily armed national guardsmen published a series of videos on social media saying they won't recognize Maduro's government, which has come under increasing domestic and international pressure over a newly begun second term that the opposition-controlled congress and many nations consider illegitimate.

In one of the videos, a man identifying himself as 3rd Sgt. Alexander Bandres Figueroa, addressing the "people of Venezuela," urges his compatriots to take to the streets to show support for their rebellion.

"You asked to take to the streets to defend the constitution, well here we are," he said in a video shot at night in which several heavily armed men and a national guard truck can be seen in the background.

"You wanted us to light the fuse, so we did. We need your support," he added.

At daybreak in the adjacent neighborhood of Cotiza, a group of shirtless young men, some with their faces covered, built a barricade across the street with a burning car, heavy sewer grates and a large chunk of concrete.

An angry group of women shouted that they have lived for too long without running water.

Hours later, the government-stacked Supreme Court said it was throwing out recent measures by the National Assembly that declared Maduro's presidency illegitimate, deepening a standoff with the opposition-controlled legislature.

The justices ruled that the new leadership of congress itself is invalid, and urged the country's chief prosecutor to investigate whether congressional leaders had acted criminally in openly defying the nation's constitution.

Juan Guaido, president of congress, shrugged off the court's warning and reiterated his call for people to take to the streets Wednesday — a historic date commemorating the end of Venezuela's military dictatorship in 1958 — to demand Maduro abandon power.

"The National Assembly is the only institution elected by the people of Venezuela," Guaido said at a press conference at the legislature.

Dozens of foreign governments have refused to recognize Maduro's second term, some saying they are ready to recognize Guaido as interim president until fair elections can be held.

In addition, the Trump administration is weighing tougher financial sanctions on Venezuela, while a dozen mostly conservative Latin American and Caribbean governments said they will block officials from Maduro's government from entering their countries and take steps to freeze assets that are the byproduct of corruption

While discontent among Venezuelans is rising amid widespread food shortages and hyperinflation, Maduro is believed to have the loyalty of his top military command. In the past, troops have easily put down small uprisings.

Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez said on Twitter that those responsible for the incident would be punished with the full force of the law.

Maduro was the target of an apparent assassination attempt Aug. 4 when two drones armed with explosives detonated near him as he spoke at a military parade. Officials have jailed dozens of suspects, including an opposition lawmaker.

In June 2017, rogue police officer Oscar Perez stole a helicopter and flew it over the capital, launching grenades at the Supreme Court building. He and several comrades died in a gunbattle with police after months on the lam.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Thirty-one days into the partial government shutdown, Democrats and Republicans appeared no closer to ending the impasse than when it began, with President Donald Trump lashing out at his opponents after they dismissed a plan he'd billed as a compromise.

Trump on Sunday branded House Speaker Nancy Pelosi a "radical" and said she was acting "irrationally." The president also tried to fend off criticism from the right, as conservatives accused him of embracing "amnesty" for immigrants in the country illegally.

Trump offered on Saturday to temporarily extend protections for young immigrants brought to the country illegally as children and those fleeing disaster zones in exchange for $5.7 billion for his border wall. But Democrats said the three-year proposal didn't go nearly far enough.

"No, Amnesty is not a part of my offer," Trump tweeted Sunday, noting that he'd offered temporary, three-year extensions — not permanent relief. But he added: "Amnesty will be used only on a much bigger deal, whether on immigration or something else."

The criticism from both sides underscored Trump's boxed in-position as he tries to win at least some Democratic buy-in without alienating his base.

With hundreds of thousands of federal workers set to face another federal pay period without paychecks, the issue passed to the Senate, where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has agreed to bring Trump's proposal to the floor this week.

Democrats say there's little chance the measure will reach the 60-vote threshold usually required to advance legislation in the Senate. Republicans have a 53-47 majority, which means they need at least some Democrats to vote in favor.

McConnell has long tried to avoid votes on legislation that is unlikely to become law. And the Kentucky Republican has said for weeks that he has no interest in "show votes" aimed only at forcing members to take sides after Trump rejected the Senate's earlier bipartisan bill to avert the shutdown.

What's unclear is how McConnell will bring Trump's plan forward — or when voting will begin. The Republican leader is a well-known architect of complicated legislative maneuvers. One question is whether he would allow a broader immigration debate with amendments to Trump's plan on the Senate floor.

McConnell spokesman David Popp said Sunday, "When we have (a plan) we will be sure to let everyone know."

One key Republican, Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, said that he and other lawmakers had been encouraging the White House to put an offer on the table — any offer — to get both sides talking.

"Get something out there the president can say, 'I can support this,' and it has elements from both sides, put it on the table, then open it up for debate," Lankford said on ABC's "This Week."

"The vote this week in the Senate is not to pass the bill, it is to open up and say 'Can we debate this? Can we amend it? Can we make changes?'" Lankford said. "Let's find a way to be able to get the government open because there are elements in this that are clearly elements that have been supported by Democrats strongly in the past."

"The president really wants to come to an agreement here. He has put offers on the table," said Rep Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., on NBC's "Meet the Press." ''The responsible thing for the Democrats to do is put a counteroffer on the table if you don't like this one."

Vice President Mike Pence said on "Fox News Sunday" that Trump had "set the table for a deal that will address the crisis on our border, secure our border and give us a pathway" to reopen the government.

Democrats, however, continue to say that they will not negotiate with Trump until he ends the shutdown, the longest in American history.

"The starting point of this negotiation ought to be reopening the government," Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., told NBC. "We cannot reward the kind of behavior of hostage taking. Because if the president can arbitrarily shut down the government now, he will do it time and again."

As news media reported the outline of Trump's proposal ahead of his Saturday speech, Pelosi and other Democrats made clear the president's plan was a non-starter — a quick reaction Trump took issue with Sunday.

"Nancy Pelosi and some of the Democrats turned down my offer yesterday before I even got up to speak. They don't see crime & drugs, they only see 2020," he said in first of a flurry of morning tweets.

Trump also lashed out at Pelosi personally — something he had refrained from early on — and accused her, without evidence, of having "behaved so irrationally" and moving "so far to the left that she has now officially become a Radical Democrat."

He also appeared to threaten to target millions of people living in the country illegally if he doesn't eventually get his way, writing that "there will be no big push to remove the 11,000,000 plus people who are here illegally-but be careful Nancy!"

Pelosi responded with a tweet of her own, urging Trump to "Re-open the government, let workers get their paychecks and then we can discuss how we can come together to protect the border."

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer also dug in during an appearance in New York, where he predicted Democrats would block the president's proposal from passing the Senate.

"If he opens the government, we'll discuss whatever he offers, but hostage taking should not work," Schumer said as he pushed legislation that would protect government workers who can't pay their bills because of the government shutdown. "It's very hard to negotiate when a gun is held to your head."

___

Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro in Washington and Mike Balsamo and Julie Walker in New York contributed to this report.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — As Americans commemorated Martin Luther King Jr., Democratic presidential hopefuls fanned out across the country to honor the civil rights leader and make themselves heard on the national stage.

Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., used the holiday to launch a presidential campaign that, if successful, would make her the first woman and the second black candidate to become president. Former Vice President Joe Biden accepted responsibility for his part in the passage of 1980s legislation that toughened sentences for crack cocaine possession, "a big mistake" because of its damage to the black community.

South Carolina, a critical early-voting state in the Democratic primary, hosted two senators expected to seek the White House in 2020: Cory Booker of New Jersey and Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg assailed gun violence in remarks at a Washington breakfast celebrating King's life. Two candidates who have already opened exploratory committees — Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York — also appeared at King-centered events.

While the Democratic field for 2020 is only beginning to take shape, the year that would have marked King's 90th birthday gives the party's prominent members a valuable opportunity to address race and, potentially, draw a contrast between their own views and those of President Donald Trump, whose approach to questions of racial justice has sparked criticism from multiple minority groups since he took office.

What Democratic contenders, both those officially in the race and those still mulling campaigns, said Monday while celebrating the King holiday:

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JOE BIDEN

Biden atoned for his role in the passage of a crime bill that imposed stiffer sentences for those convicted of crack cocaine possession — a law that has disproportionately affected the black community.

Biden said he hasn't "always gotten things right," but has "always tried." He also spoke about his support for efforts by former President Barack Obama's administration to reduce crack possession sentences.

Biden was the head of the Senate's Judiciary Committee when the 1994 crime bill — which is now criticized as having helped create an era of mass incarceration — was passed and signed into law.

"It was a big mistake that was made," he told the Washington breakfast also attended by Bloomberg. ."We were told by the experts that 'With crack you can never go back.'" He said: "It's trapped an entire generation."

Biden says the crack sentencing guidelines are one example of broader racial injustice in America.

"White America has to admit there's still a systematic racism," he said. "And it goes almost unnoticed by so many of us."

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MICHAEL BLOOMBERG

Bloomberg said far too many U.S. politicians don't "seem to give a damn" about the victims of gun violence.

He said many politicians care more about "getting re-elected than saving lives." He spoke of his own efforts to reduce gun violence, including millions of his own fortune that he's spent supporting gun control initiatives.

His speech focused on policies he championed while New York's mayor, such as his efforts to improve schools and reduce neighborhood pollution. And he highlighted how he apologized to the fiancee of Sean Bell, a black man who was shot to death by New York police in 2006, just hours before the man's wedding. At the time Bloomberg was critical of officers, who he said used excessive force.

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ELIZABETH WARREN

In Boston, Warren called for a constitutional amendment guaranteeing a right to vote for every American.

Warren made the comment after saying "people of color have been systematically denied the most basic of human rights: the right to vote."

"It would guarantee the right to vote to every American citizen and make sure that that vote is counted. Right now there is no constitutional right," Warren said. "It would help protect and give us grounds for pushing back when localities undercut the right of people to vote."

Warren said King's fight was not just about civil rights, but also about economic rights. She said the road to prosperity is steep and rocky for millions of working people, but is "steeper and rockier for black and brown Americans."

Warren also criticized the president for the partial federal government shutdown and responded to Trump's offer to Democrats on Saturday to open the government.

"If the president wants to negotiate over immigration reform I'm all for it," she said after the speech. "But open the government and open it now."

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BERNIE SANDERS

Speaking in South Carolina, Sanders cited King's "courage" in opposing U.S. military involvement in Vietnam as well as in fighting to end racial inequity.

"Racial equality must be central to combatting economic inequality, if we are going to create a government that works for all of us, and not just the one percent," Sanders said.

Sanders lost South Carolina's 2016 Democratic primary to Hillary Clinton by more than 40 percentage points. His presence at a Columbia church service Monday and a rally after, as well as several other events in the state, signaled that he plans to redouble efforts in South Carolina should he launch a second White House run.

Sanders also spoke of King's efforts to help workers organize and "change the national priorities," leaning into what sounded like a campaign message-in-waiting on Monday. Among the specific proposals he cited were a federal jobs guarantee, free tuition at public colleges and universities, and universal access to child care.

He also attacked the president, calling him "a racist" and saying he has purposely tried "to divide us up by the color of our skin, by our gender, by the country we came from, by our religion."

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CORY BOOKER

Booker implored those gathered at South Carolina's Statehouse to channel their dissatisfaction with the country's direction into action.

Recalling King's words on needing to work toward change rather than waiting for it, Booker urged those in the crowd to build on their ancestors' successes and struggles.

"We are dissatisfied that we live in a society that's being seduced by celebrity and forgets that substance is more important than celebrity," Booker said.

The New Jersey senator and Sanders participated in a morning prayer service before leading a march to the Statehouse.

"We don't just celebrate King's holiday," said Booker, who is African-American. "We recommit ourselves to be agents of change."

Booker applauded Trump's decision to visit the King memorial in Washington. "May everyone study his work," Booker said of King. "This is not a day to criticize other Americans."

Trump and Vice President Mike Pence laid a wreath at the memorial and held a moment of silence in a brief visit that had not been on their public schedule.

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KAMALA HARRIS

Harris, a first-term senator and former California attorney general known for her rigorous questioning of Trump's nominees, opened the holiday by declaring her bid on ABC's "Good Morning America." She abandoned the formality of launching an exploratory committee, instead going all in on a presidential campaign.

"I love my country," she said when asked what qualifies her for the presidency. "And this is a moment in time that I feel a sense of responsibility to stand up and fight for the best of who we are. And that fight will always include, as one of the highest priorities, our national security."

Harris, 54, grew up in Oakland, California, a daughter of parents from Jamaica and India who were active in the civil rights movement.

King, she said, "was aspirational, like our country is aspirational. We know that we've not yet reached those ideals, but our strength is that we fight to reach those ideals. And that inspires me because it is true that we are a country that, yes, we are flawed, we are not perfect, but we are a great country when we think about the principles upon which we are founded."

Harris also cited her years as a prosecutor in asserting: "My entire career has been focused on keeping people safe. It is probably one of the things that motivates me more than anything else."

The senator plans a formal campaign launch in Oakland in a week and will have her headquarters in Baltimore. She's already planning her first trip to an early primary state as a declared candidate.

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Associated Press reporters Brian Slodysko and Juana Summers in Washington and Steve LeBlanc in Boston contributed to this report.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Kamala Harris, a first-term senator and former California attorney general known for her rigorous questioning of President Donald Trump's nominees, entered the Democratic presidential race on Monday. Vowing to "bring our voices together," Harris would be the first woman to hold the presidency and the second African-American if she succeeds.

Harris, who grew up in Oakland, California, and is a daughter of parents from Jamaica and India, is one of the earliest high-profile Democrats to join what is expected to be a crowded field. She made her long anticipated announcement on ABC's "Good Morning America."

"I am running for president of the United States," she said. "And I'm very excited about it."

The 54-year old portrayed herself as a fighter for justice, decency and equality in a video distributed by her campaign as she announced her bid. "They're the values we as Americans cherish, and they're all on the line now," Harris says in the video . "The future of our country depends on you and millions of others lifting our voices to fight for our American values."

On ABC, she cited her years as a prosecutor in asserting: "My entire career has been focused on keeping people safe. It is probably one of the things that motivates me more than anything else."

Harris launched her presidential bid as the nation observes what would have been the 90th birthday of the slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. The timing was a clear signal that the California senator— who has joked that she had a "stroller's-eye view" of the civil rights movement because her parents wheeled her and her sister Maya to protests — sees herself as another leader in that fight.

She abandoned the formality of launching an exploratory committee, instead going all in on a presidential bid.

She plans a formal campaign launch in Oakland on Jan. 27. The campaign will be based in Baltimore, with a second office in Oakland.

Harris joins what is expected to be a wide-open race for the Democratic presidential nomination. There's no apparent front-runner at this early stage and Harris will face off against several Senate colleagues.

Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York have both launched exploratory committees. Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota are also looking at the race.

If Booker enters the race, he and Harris could face a fierce competition for support from black voters.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who unsuccessfully sought the 2016 Democratic nomination, is also considering a campaign. Several other Democrats have already declared their intentions, including former Maryland Rep. John Delaney and former Obama administration housing chief Julian Castro.

Harris launches her campaign fresh off of a tour to promote her latest memoir, "The Truths We Hold," which was widely seen as a stage-setter for a presidential bid.

She is already planning her first trip to an early primary state as a declared candidate. On Friday, Harris will travel to South Carolina to attend the Pink Ice Gala in Columbia, which is hosted by a South Carolina chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, which Harris pledged as an undergraduate student at Howard University. The sorority, founded more than 100 years ago, is a stronghold in the African-American community.

South Carolina, where black voters make up a large share of the Democratic electorate, is likely to figure heavily into Harris's prospects. And early voting in Harris's home state of California will overlap with the traditional early nominating contests, which could give Harris a boost.

Harris's campaign team is already taking shape and includes several veterans of Democratic politics.

Juan Rodriguez, who ran Harris's 2016 Senate campaign, will manage her presidential bid. Her sister, Maya Harris, a former top adviser to Hillary Clinton, will be the campaign chair. The veteran campaign finance lawyer Marc Elias will serve as the Harris campaign's general counsel, and Angelique Cannon, who worked for Clinton's 2016 campaign, will serve as national finance director. David Huynh, who was Clinton's director of delegate operations in 2016, will serve as a senior adviser. Lily Adams, a Clinton campaign alum who has worked as Harris's spokeswoman, will be communications director.

Her staff says she plans to reject the assistance of a super PAC, as well as corporate PAC money. She's invested heavily in cultivating a digital, small-dollar donor network before her presidential bid.

Before her 2016 victory in the Senate race, Harris made her career in law enforcement. She served as the district attorney in San Francisco before she was elected to serve as attorney general.

Harris is likely to face questions about her law enforcement record, particularly after the Black Lives Matter movement and activists across the country pushed for a criminal justice overhaul. Harris's prosecutorial record has recently come under new scrutiny after a blistering opinion piece in The New York Times criticized her repeated claim that she was a "progressive prosecutor," focused on changing a broken criminal justice system from within.

Harris addressed her law enforcement background in her book. She argued it was a "false choice" to decide between supporting the police and advocating for greater scrutiny of law enforcement.

She "knew that there was an important role on the inside, sitting at the table where the decisions were being made," she wrote. "When activists came marching and banging on the doors, I wanted to be on the other side to let them in."

Harris supported legislation that passed the Senate last year that overhauled the criminal justice system, particularly when it comes to sentencing rules.

Harris is framing her campaign through her courtroom experience. The theme of her nascent campaign is "Kamala Harris, for the people," the same words she spoke as a prosecutor, trying a case in the courtroom.